


I grew familiar with villains that lived in my bed

by Guardian_Rex



Category: Original Work
Genre: Author is winging it, Demons, Gen, Maybe - Freeform, Slice of Life, Writing Prompt Fill, castles in modern times, found this in my google docs, invisible companions
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-28
Updated: 2020-01-28
Packaged: 2021-02-27 11:20:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,668
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22446280
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Guardian_Rex/pseuds/Guardian_Rex
Summary: You wake up one morning to the sweet smell of a home-cooked breakfast. You go into the kitchen and find the table full of your favorite breakfast dishes. You sit down to eat and go to thank your mom, only to come to the realization that you’d just moved into your new place last night and were all alone.
Relationships: Original Male Character & Original Male Character





	I grew familiar with villains that lived in my bed

**Author's Note:**

> Money wasn't exactly easy to manage, and all Markus had wanted was a cheap place to live, and to brag to his pals that he now owned a castle. He didn't think to ask why there was a castle of all things in the middle of America, nor did he think to check if the place was haunted. It was within his price range, he was actually buying the place, and he managed to get his stuff in all in one day. That was enough for him. So, he may have missed the part of the contract that probably mentioned the demon who lived in the place, because that's the kind of thing they have to list in the fine print somewhere, right?

Mark yawned and stretched when he woke up, catching the delicious smell of food cooked recently. It was a blend of all the most delicious foods in the world, his brain vaguely and helpfully told him, and Mark found himself slowly pulling himself out of bed. Instead of the bathroom, as usual, Mark headed straight for the kitchen and after a few wrong turns ended up in the dining room instead, where he found a plate with a giant chocolate chip waffle, one with eggs, bacon, and grits, and a glass of orange juice. The fork and knife were already set out along with a bottle of syrup, and Mark found himself grinning like an idiot. He sat down, picked up the fork and opened his mouth to call out in thanks to his mom. But then Mark stopped, realizing that he’d moved in just last night and he should’ve been alone.

Setting his fork down, Mark slowly pushed his seat back and blinked a few times, looking around the room. “Uh…” He winced at the scratchiness of his voice and cleared his throat. “Hello? Is anyone besides me here?” He waited for a beat, then another, and nearly jumped out of his chair when he heard a voice.

“Morning!” In walked a man with purple skin, strawberry pink hair, and a pair of horns growing in a curve out of either side of his head, a purple tail flicked idly behind him. He was wearing an apron that read kiss the cook on it and Mark was absently reminded that he was naked, but that didn’t matter near as much as the fact that there was an apparently jolly demon in his new castle. “You slept for like, forever. Hope I cooked it well.”

“This is probably gonna sound rude, but that much warning is stressing my morning filter already anyway: who are you and why are you in my castle?” Mark doubted that his silverware was actual silver, or that anything else would hurt the demon if he needed to. He really hoped he didn’t need to fight a demon half asleep before breakfast.

Two reddish-pink eyes swiveled toward Mark and the demon’s face scrunched up in confusion. “Don’t you remember last week when you signed up for the castle?” Mark vaguely recalled something about keeping the place clean but skimmed by that section of the contract since he assumed it meant that the landlord wanted his housing kept clean. “I’m Tom. I sorta come with the place. And you, now that you signed that contract. I’m your demonic assistant, here to help with all your needs and keep you as happy as I can.” Tom held out a hand and Mark stared at it for a moment before shaking. “Nice to meet you.”

Mark blinked slowly and waited. After a full minute he wasn’t missing any internal organs, or his skin, or any memories that he could think of. And the food was smelling pretty nice… still, though, there was a very important piece of information missing there. “So, did I accidentally sign my soul away?” Tom frowned and rolled his eyes, pulling his surprisingly warm hand away from Mark’s.

“Trust me, Mark, your soul is still right where it belongs,” Tom said, offense in his tone. “I really do hope that the foo-”

“That was vague,” Mark said with a yawn. “Like, almost enough so that I bought it, but vague and dependant on subjective points of view. To you, as far as I’m currently aware, my soul would belong in your possession, while to me it belongs in me.” Tom raised a brow at him but Mark held his stare, too tired to feel as scared as he should. “So, which is it?”

“Very observant Markus, the soul is in your body, and I do not own it. Nor did you sell it to anyone else,” Tom added when Mark raised a brow in return. “Thanks for the vote of confidence, sir.”

“Dude, I woke up to food cooked by a stranger in my home and the most I know about demons and contracts is that souls are usually involved,” Mark said. “For all I know this is poisoned. So, forgive me - or don’t, I’m not gonna say what you gotta think - if I don’t like… trust you right off the bat.” Not caring to have any further conversation on an empty stomach, Mark picked up the fork and started eating. Tom had left by the time Mark came up for air, everything at least half tried. “Tom, your cooking is delicious!” If he was being poisoned, at least it tasted great.

Not letting himself get unnerved by the lack of response, Mark finished up and put his dishes in the dishwasher. He headed to his bathroom, got showered up, and there he took a deep breath and screamed. Alright, so he was a bit unnerved. He felt it was justified, personally, to be unnerved or even, dare he think it, terrified by the fact that the castle he’d bought - a novelty decision made simply because it was cheaper than most apartment choices and he’d get to live in a  _ castle _ \- was haunted by a demon. That’s not exactly something you just wake up to and feel alright about. So, if Mark was trying to remember some exorcism he’d read online two months ago during a horror movie binge while he scrubbed himself down, not only was that his business, he was also entirely justified. Nevermind that he was absolutely butchering the words from a bad horror flick, it was the thought that counted with magick, right?

Unfortunately, and yet very predictably, none of that worked and clothes that should’ve been still boxed away in cardboard were laid out on the sink counter for him, along with a towel that was several years old and shouldn’t have been so fluffy and warm when he used it. It was, however, and Mark would just have to deal with that, somehow. So, he got dressed, cleaned up the rest of the way, and headed back into his new bedroom.

“What the actual fuck?” All that Mark had managed to get done yesterday when he’d moved in was get the bed up to the room where he wanted it, and move all his boxes in so he could unpack them later. Then he passed out on his very much bare mattress. What he hadn’t done was fully furnish his room with everything arranged as close to how it had been back at his parents’ house, make the bed, or even dust. The stone floor had been carpeted over, presumably to help with the cold, and Mark noted the sun was shining ever so perfectly through the windows. There were even birds chirping. “Tom?”

Even though Mark had practically whispered during his gawking at the room, Tom poked his head in through the door to the hallway with a smile on his face and gestured to the room as he stepped in with a little twirl. “Do ya like it? I hope it’s alright, I haven’t quite gotten to adjusting the temperature in here yet but that takes more time than the rest.”

“I uh. Yes?” Tom’s grin dipped just a bit and Mark winced. “I’m a little overwhelmed here, and I got one dumb question, and a probably good one.”

“Shoot.”

“How did you manage to do this while I was in the shower?”

“You were taking plenty of time having your little crisis in there, to be perfectly fair. And, of course, magick.”

“Right, cool, so nothing comes for nothing, right? What uh.” Mark scratched the back of his head and thought about his words as carefully as he could without coffee. “How are you being compensated for your services and by whom?”

Tom applauded him and patted Mark on the shoulder. “You are the one compensating me, and the payment varies from person to person. At the very minimum, you have to interact with me. That’s a default though, you’re essentially renting my house from me.” He chuckled and held onto both of Mark’s shoulders, making sure he didn’t squirm away from him. “In all seriousness though,  _ master Markus _ ,” he drawled the words almost mockingly and Mark couldn’t help but shudder. “My payment at it’s basest form is this. You live in my home, and I’ll be your assistant in everything you need me for, and you have to endure the fact that you and only you can see, hear, or otherwise interact with me. The more satisfied with my services you are - and no matter how you try to convince yourself that you’re dissatisfied, I can tell how you really feel - the greater my payment is.” He grinned and for the first time, Mark could see his pearly white and shark sharp teeth. “That’s the cost of living here, and why you were magickally able to buy property in this day and age without a mountain of riches to call your own.”

The obvious question was on the tip of Mark’s tongue.  _ What in god’s name is the highest price? _ But he took in the face grinning not a foot away from his and decided that some questions were best left unasked. So, instead, he gently raised a hand and pulled Tom’s off of his shoulder. He let go easily enough and backed out of Mark’s space smoothly. “Right. Uh. Do you know the area well, or are you confined to the house?”

“Oh, I’ve been all over the world! You wouldn’t believe how far some people go for a vacation.” Tom started describing the town and the many places he’d been, and the message was loud and clear to Mark. There was no getting away from Tom unless he moved out, and at the moment Mark absolutely couldn’t do that. So, he took a deep breath, walked over to his bed, and fell onto the mattress, listening to the unfazed demon talk.

**Author's Note:**

> Something I started writing back in 2018, and decided to finish up and show y'all before the month is out. Tumblr prompts are such a blessing, aren't they? I hope you all have as much fun reading as I do writing it!


End file.
